Indonesia is now Southeast Asia’s fastest growing market for smartphones, according to market research firm Canalys. The country experienced a 17-per cent growth from 2017 to 2018, while its neighbour Thailand experienced a 13-per cent decrease in last year’s fourth quarter.

Another reason behind the growth was the rise of smartphone brands, either new or old, that keep innovating with new features. However, Yudis said that 55 per cent of prospective buyers were confused by the current proliferation of brands and designs.

Additionally, the survey said that 69 per cent of buyers prefer to purchase smartphones from offline stores as they needed to experience the product first before buying it. However, based on a Google survey, online purchases have grown rapidly and reached 30 per cent in 2018.

“Thirty percent is a big number,” Yudis said, adding that “growth can be considered to have doubled from 2017 to 2019.”